Free plane tickets and lavish parties: how the gaming industry wines and dines the press

Game companies spend a lot of money on flying game journalists around the …

Writing about and reporting on games is fun. I have a great time playing and writing about games for my day job, and while some aspects of the job (flying into New York in the morning, having a few meetings, and then flying out that night while typing furiously to end a 15 hour day) can be stressful, so is anything people do for money. The difference is that game journalists get so many neat perks between the stresses. However, it takes some of the fun out of the fun when I read stories in the mainstream press about how far game companies will go to impress game journalists. This kind of thing can make us all look a little...juvenile? Take the blitz of attention and previews that Fallout 3 recently enjoyed. The coverage cost Bethesda a good amount of money.

In addition to an hour-long demo and chats with the game's designers, the trip included a two-night stay in downtown's swank Helix Hotel, dinner at Logan Tavern and a private party at a nightclub in Adams Morgan. Airfare, hotel, food, drinks and shuttle bus were provided, courtesy of Bethesda Softworks. Although a few attendees paid their own way, most did not...Fallout 3 is scheduled to soon grace the covers of 20 gamer magazines, largely as a result of the event.

I had a knot in my stomach after reading this; while I knew this went on, it's still not fun to hear about it laid out like this.

Of course, I'm jealous of things like trips to Vegas and Russia to promote a game, who wouldn't be? But editorial policy at Ars Technica restricts us from accepting free airfare or accommodations though; it makes everyone involved look bad. Even if readers agree with what you say, it's hard to argue how you say it isn't affected by a nice flight, a good hotel, drinks, and food...none of which you paid for. There are lines of course. Everyone accepts review code for games, and I'm not going to turn down the occasional free drink at E3, but what's described in the Washington Post article is excessive.

Here is what I would like to see from my fellow game journalists: if you feel like it's ethical to accept these junkets, or if you think they honestly help your readers, great; but in order to make sure your readers have all the information, if your airfare or room was provided to you, simply say so in the article. That way it's all above board, and everyone has the information about how the coverage was attained.